LogoutMr. Arthur Wishart
This interview covers the remarkable career of Arthur Wishart, who rose from humble beginnings in rural New Brunswick to become Attorney General of Ontario. Born in 1903 to Scottish Presbyterian farming parents, Wishart excelled academically, becoming valedictorian and attending University of New Brunswick (1920-1924) before teaching at a Hamilton boys’ school to finance his legal education. He attended Osgoode Hall Law School from 1927-1930 while articling with Rowan, Parkinson and Gardiner, focusing on real estate law.
After graduation, Wishart practiced with various firms during the challenging Depression era, including Wilson and Thompson in Windsor, before establishing himself as the sole lawyer in the struggling lumber town of Blind River in 1931. There he served a community of 2,000 people, mostly French Canadian workers, handling all aspects of legal practice. In 1939, he moved to Sault Ste. Marie to take over the practice of deceased lawyer McMillan. Throughout his career, Wishart expressed deep satisfaction with the legal profession, considering his eventual appointment as Attorney General of Ontario to be the pinnacle of any lawyer’s career.
This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.
References
The following are a selection of topics discussed in this oral history.
- County Courts
- Magistrates Court
- Police Court
- Supreme Court
- Dalhousie
- Osgoode Hall
- Agriculture Development Board
- Attorney General of Ontario
- Conservative Party
- Liberal Party
- Ministry of Health
- New Democratic Party
- Ontario Water Resources Commission
- First World War
- Great Depression
- Hepburn government strike
- World War II
- Blind River
- Fredericton
- Hamilton
- New Brunswick
- Ontario
- Peterborough
- Quebec
- Sault Ste. Marie
- Toronto
- Windsor
- McFadden and McMillan
- Rowan, Parkinson and Gardiner
- Wilson Thompson
- Wishart and McMillan
- A.R. Clute
- Alec Stark
- Andy Brewin
- Argue Martin
- Arthur Allison Wishart
- Bill Common
- Bob Wilson
- Charlie McNaughton
- Dean Falconbridge
- Don Rowan
- Donald MacDonald
- Ellen Lidstone
- Fred Cass
- Fred Gardiner
- Fred Parkinson
- Gordon Thompson
- Harry Parkinson
- Jack Robinson
- John Henry Wishart
- John Robarts
- John Robinette
- Margaret Ellen Porter
- Paul Martin
- Stephen Lewis
- Syd Smith
- Vincent MacDonald
- Delta Chi
- Law Society
- Rotary Club
- Womens Christian Temperance Union
- Womens Institute
- 1900s
- 1910s
- 1920s
- 1930s
- 1940s
- Contracts
- corporation work
- covenants running with land
- Criminal Law
- Divorce Law
- estate work
- Landlord and Tenant Law
- Litigation
- mortgage work
- Real Estate Law
- Title Searches
- Torts
- Trusts
Some of these references were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Archive Details
Files consist of oral history records documenting the life and career of Arthur Wishart (1903-2001), a lawyer in Blind River, Ontario, where he was elected mayor (1936), later elected as a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP in 1963, and Attorney General (1964- 1971). Interview topics include: University of New Brunswick; Osgoode Hall; articling; early practice; political career; Attorney General; labour issues. Interview conducted by Christine J.N. Kates. File includes nine audio cassette recordings from a series of five interviews and a transcript with index (271 p.).